Professional wrestler Cody Rhodes had a lot on his plate Sunday. That evening he was set to duke it out with the wrestler Christian for the intercontinental title in the Savannah Civic Center.

But in the hours before the WWE SmackDown World Tour event started, Rhodes visited the National Guard Armory on Eisenhower Drive. The wrestler was there to meet soldiers, sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans.

“He’s a cool dude — down to earth,” said Pfc. DeAndre McCall, 21. “He supports the military. He came out here, and he’s probably busy, and he encouraged us to go out and cheer for him.”

McCall said he’s been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 7 years old.

That’s only slightly younger than Mark Garcia. The 11-year-old Savannah resident was happy as could be walking out of the armory Sunday, clutching an autographed paper.

“It was awesome,” Garcia said, proud to have met and taken a picture with Rhodes.

“We watch it every Friday and Monday night,” she said. “We don’t miss a night of wrestling.”

Rhodes might be intimidating in the ring, but in the armory Sunday, the 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound wrestler from Marietta was warm and welcoming of his fans.

“ ... We’ve made our trips over to Iraq and Afghanistan and some of the bases around the country, and then to do these intimate meet-and-greets is just more fun,” Rhodes said in between signing autographs. “You get to chat a little longer and sign more stuff and ask them how they’re doing, which is the most important thing.”

Spc. William Furman, 41, served 15 years active duty in the Army and is in his sixth for the Army Reserve. A fan of professional wrestling since 1981, Furman said he was glad Rhodes stopped by.

“It’s nice that we’re getting something back for all our hard work we do,” he said. “We’re thrilled they come down to Savannah to perform for us, and we’re out on the front lines defending this country.”